Democratic Senator Barbara Boxer of California said Tuesday that a cap-and-trade
bill was a top priority. (Photo: The Associated Press) Senator Barbara Boxer,
the California Democrat, promised today to draft cap-and-trade legislation for
the reduction of greenhouse gas emissions in as a little as a few weeks — and
definitely “before the end of the year.”

Speaking at a press conference, Ms. Boxer, the chairwoman of the Senate
environment and public works committee, said, “I want to get a bill out of
committee that every member has a stake in.”

Ms. Boxer laid out the following six broad principles, but did not provide
specific details concerning future legislation:

• A commitment to reducing emissions to levels guided by science to avoid global warming.

• Setting enforceable short- and long-term emissions targets.

• Establishing a carbon market.

• Investing in clean technology.

• Supporting efforts by local and state governments to deal with climate change.
• Supporting developing nations.

Larry Schweiger, president and chief executive of the National Wildlife
Federation, said in a video post ahead of Ms. Boxer’s comments that, “We need to
move quickly on a climate bill to help the American economy and to better
prepare us for the future.”

He added that “in this time of economic dislocation, it’s very important that we
make major investments in new strategy for energy, which will create millions of
new jobs and give people opportunities to protect the environment.”
Although Congress voted down a bill to reduce greenhouse gas emissions last
year, Ms. Boxer said she expects to draw both Democratic and Republican support.
“We know that we have to act,” Boxer said, “and we intend to act.”